MUNCIE – Make enough bologna in your life and you're going to get good at it, or maybe even great at it.

A case in point: Fisher Meats' bologna.

"I've been making it for years," said Greg Fisher, owner of the northeast-side meat market. "And my grandfather was making it when he was still alive."

That the Fisher family members have been preparing outstanding meat in their Portland processing shop for years is evidenced by the passel of awards they have won. The latest, awarded in June as judged in the American Cured Meat Championship, is the 2014 Champion Bologna.

An old meat-related advertisement once referred to some ingredients by the unforgettable if unappetizing phrase "parts is parts," but Greg called the meat in his shop's bologna "the top of the line."

"We take loins, we take from the pork shoulder and mix it," he said. "We use a little bit of lean beef."

Then they add spices and other ingredients like salt, sugars, garlic and even onion. When all this is added together to make bologna, you can bet they don't mess around.

"We usually make thousand-pound batches," Greg said. "Five-hundred to a thousand pounds."

The reason they produce so much, he explained, is because of demand. Lots of regular Fisher Meats customers come in on bologna-buying runs.

So what is a bologna-making contest like?

In a competition such as what they just won, two judges typically choose the winner from between 35 to 45 bolognas that are vying for top honors. While taste is obviously important, Greg said they don't all aim for some absolute standard, for the simple reason that there is none.

"Different regions have different tastes that they are known for," he explained.

Still, appearance is also a huge factor, a truth reflected by the saying "the customer buys with their eyes long before they judge with taste." With that in mind, the judges consider factors like size, shape, uniformity, color and workmanship.

Workmanship? In bologna?

"They check that there's not an air pocket in the product," Greg said, "and not any smears."

Then they cut the bologna open to see that the sandwich meat is smoothly consistent.

"They don't want to see any connective tissue," he noted.

In making their bologna, Fisher employees smoke the meat for ten to 12 hours, grind it for a couple more, then chill it for 12 to 15 hours. Finally, it will be packed the next day.

In a couple important ways, Fisher's product, to paraphrase the automobile ad, is not your father's bologna. Buy many versions off the shelf and you are liable to be buying bologna made with "mechanically separated poultry," Greg said.

Go ahead and let that sink in.

"We don't do any of that," Greg assured us.

Then there are those skinny little bologna slices most of us grew up with. Truth be told, that's probably fine if you are eating it as a cold cut. But more and more these days, folks are eating their bologna fried or grilled.

"I like to throw it on a grill," Greg said, adding that when he does so, he cuts it five-eighths to three-quarters of an inch thick and eats it with onions, mustard and a slice of tomato. "It really does make a great sandwich."

So, we asked, with all the other meat options at your disposal, you actually do eat your own bologna?

Greg laughed, like he couldn't believe we asked.

"Heck, yes," he said. "I had it for lunch yesterday, and I'm probably going to have it for lunch today."